Homeowners Rally Against Proposed Dragstrip

It's the noise that a drag strip would produce that has 80 South Augusta homeowners together making some noise of their own. Ray Walker says "What were having to do is fight an uphill battle."

Talk of building a five million dollar dragracing facility in south augusta began six months ago after a plan brought forth by Commissioner Marion Williams, who says "This is something that will bring alot of economic dollars to Augusta."

The debate however, was quieted after the commission denied a request to alter the city's noise ordinance. Now after a study done at the site, the proposal is back on the commission's agenda for reconsideration....and that's why folks came out to protest. Most of the people say they are not opposed to the idea of a dragstrip, just opposed to the location. Walker says "We're not giving up, we're still going to get our point across, this needs to be moved somewhere else, not here."

Homeowners like Ray Walker say one study being presented to commissioners is full of assumptions, Like one that the project will bring an annual 30 million dollars in revenue to Augusta. So they've done a study of their own that they say shows increased traffic, noise, and pollution will harm their neighborhood. Walker says "It's like a David versus Goliath type of thing. We dont have any ulterior motives with this, we're just trying to protect our homes and our way of life in the area."

With State Representative Pete Warren and Augusta Commissioner Jimmy Smith in their corner, they're hoping to rev up the support of five other commissioners to strike down this proposal once and for all. Charles Jones says "There are other wasy to bring revenue to Augusta besides a racetrack."

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